Tablets Just picked up dell venue 8 pro, need some advice please.

I have a 32gb ipad air, 16gb kindle fire hdx and recently picked up a dell venue 8 pro 32gb. I bought the dell venue pro since staples was running a promotion for 50 off a tablet then price matched it to microcenters price of 259 coming out to $209 before tax. I have 12 days to return it so wanted to act on the deal and decide after since the coupon was expiring. My 2010 MacBook Pro has been full for quite sometime forcing me to move a lot of stuff to my external hard drive. What I planned on doing with the venue 8 pro was to add a micro sd card and transfer all my movies, music etc. to it so I can have everything readily available whenever I want. Only problem is I haven't used window in 10 years since I hopped on the apple bandwagon. The kindle fire hdx I bought because I purchase a lot from amazon and I'm a prime member so I like the options to download movies to view offline if i want. The ipad air is my main device I use for everything right now games, web surfing etc. so pretty much the venue would have all my extra stuff on it that I could have readily access to view whenever and use miracast to stream whichever of my downloaded movies to my television, use smart glass for Xbox, word documents for school etc. Should I return it? Is there no way to justify having 3 tablets like this and it's a waste of money? The big draw is being able to add a lot more space which obviously you can't do with the air or hdx. Any thoughts and feedback is appreciated thanks.

For $209 that's a throwaway for sure. I was going to buy an open box one at Microcenter for $207, but they got sold out too fast. I'm going to try and snag one of these, did you have to call up for the price match or go into the store?

For $209 that's a throwaway for sure. I was going to buy an open box one at Microcenter for $207, but they got sold out too fast. I'm going to try and snag one of these, did you have to call up for the price match or go into the store?

Throwaway as in it's not a lot of money relatively. A year ago that would probably have been $499. But it's hard to justify 3 tablets, if for no other reason than they would become cumbersome. Maybe consider a OTG cable and a portable flash drive, or look at cloud storage solutions.

I would have picked that up in a second at that price, but Staples wouldn't price match me and use the coupon. You got lucky. Personally I don't think it's worth $299, only 32gb and that gets eaten up quickly and no Cellular service means it's kind of a dead duck away from the house. But for $209, jeez you can't go wrong just using this as a little portable gaming machine you can play Crysis or Torchlight on. Plus you get the stylus and can run MS Office, take notes, draw, etc.

Throwaway as in it's not a lot of money relatively. A year ago that would probably have been $499. But it's hard to justify 3 tablets, if for no other reason than they would become cumbersome. Maybe consider a OTG cable and a portable flash drive, or look at cloud storage solutions.

I would have picked that up in a second at that price, but Staples wouldn't price match me and use the coupon. You got lucky. Personally I don't think it's worth $299, only 32gb and that gets eaten up quickly and no Cellular service means it's kind of a dead duck away from the house. But for $209, jeez you can't go wrong just using this as a little portable gaming machine you can play Crysis or Torchlight on. Plus you get the stylus and can run MS Office, take notes, draw, etc.

Click to expand...

Ok can do you think it's a good idea to get a micro sd and put all my media stuff on it in stead on it just sitting on my external drive?

I was thinking about picking one of these up last week. It seems like the big draw is being apple to run any Windows application instead of being restricted to the Apple/Android app stores. Thinks like the tuning software for my car that would never run on an iPad is a couple taps away.

Did you have to do anything special to take advantage of the Staples price match?

No one needs 3 tablets. However in your case each serves a specific use. iPad for Leisure. Kindle for Amazon content and Dell Venue for movies/productivity.

I like the Dell Venue a lot. I also have a kindle fire but I never use it. I use the kindle app on the Dell Venue to read. there's no amazon prime app on Windows 8 but you can just watch it in the browser - I use my Xbox for Prime Video.

In my opinion the Dell could easily replace the Kindle but again use the device for the next few days see which one you pick up most often.

No one needs 3 tablets. However in your case each serves a specific use. iPad for Leisure. Kindle for Amazon content and Dell Venue for movies/productivity.

I like the Dell Venue a lot. I also have a kindle fire but I never use it. I use the kindle app on the Dell Venue to read. there's no amazon prime app on Windows 8 but you can just watch it in the browser - I use my Xbox for Prime Video.

In my opinion the Dell could easily replace the Kindle but again use the device for the next few days see which one you pick up most often.

Click to expand...

Ok great tips. Also, if I decide to keep it and buy a 64 gb micro sd are they all the same or can u advice me on one to purchase? That's should be enough for a lot of content I have this including window is all brand new to me , I need like a tutorial lol

I've been seeing these Dell tablets around but haven't had the chance to use one myself yet. Can you hook this up to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse and use it like a lightweight windows machine? My poor Macbook is really showing it's age and I'm looking for something cheap to get me through school until I have some more cash around summer time. Basically I just need MS office and a browser, and since this thing comes with office the price seems like a no brainer. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with using one of these as a temporary PC replacement.

I've been seeing these Dell tablets around but haven't had the chance to use one myself yet. Can you hook this up to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse and use it like a lightweight windows machine? My poor Macbook is really showing it's age and I'm looking for something cheap to get me through school until I have some more cash around summer time. Basically I just need MS office and a browser, and since this thing comes with office the price seems like a no brainer. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with using one of these as a temporary PC replacement.

Click to expand...

Sadly you can't. At least not easily. Theres no HDMI port and the micro USB charge port doesnt allow you to charge the tablet while using a usb peripheral. You can use Miracast to mirror the display wirelessly if you have a compatible reciever or buy a pluggable displaylink adaptor (amazon $129) that allows usb-hdmi but then you can't keep the tablet plugged in unless you manage to hack yourself a usb hub that alllows charging and data out simultaneously

Ok great tips. Also, if I decide to keep it and buy a 64 gb micro sd are they all the same or can u advice me on one to purchase? That's should be enough for a lot of content I have this including window is all brand new to me , I need like a tutorial lol

Nice review. My local Staples and Walmart location do not have it on display for trial. Your review has peaked my interest and I like to get some hands on with the device before I buy it. I know I can return it easily enough but seeing it in action is my preference.

3 tablets? C'mon folks, I know many folks have more than that. The nature of the electronics beast with items continually being released which arouses tablet junkies.

Been reading pretty good reviews on Amazon though I try to stay away from the professional ones and also those obviously plugging a device which is apparent no matter which one you read about on their forum.

I doubt it will be put on display especially if retailers want to dedicate the space for something else they feel folks are more interested in. I decided to buy one yesterday. We'll see.

MacRumors attracts a broad audience
of both consumers and professionals interested in
the latest technologies and products. We also boast an active community focused on
purchasing decisions and technical aspects of the iPhone, iPod, iPad, and Mac platforms.